Calhoun cruises past Tuloso-Midway 62-6

The only thing capable of slowing down the Sandcrabs in the first half was the clock.

Calhoun scored on almost all of its opening-half possessions - and some of Tuloso-Midway's - as it maintained an unblemished record by beating the Warriors 62-6 Friday night at Port Lavaca.

The Sandcrabs worked their way into the end zone on four on their first five possessions, added a pair of scores on interceptions and took a kickoff in for a touchdown.

The only drive No. 10 Calhoun failed to score on in the first half was when time expired in the second quarter.

And the Sandcrabs did not slow down in the second half, converting three of their four possessions into points. The only exception was, once again, the final drive of the half when the game was in complete control.

With Calhoun scoring on offense, defense and special teams, about the only way the Sandcrabs did not score was with a punt return.

But they were trying.

"We hoping to field (the Warriors') punt (in the fourth quarter)," Calhoun coach Richard Whitaker joked. "I thought we might have had a chance there.

"But I thought it was a good home opener for our kids. They took care of business."

After recovering a fumble on the first drive of the game, Calhoun needed less than two minutes to go 41 yards as running back Brandon Griffith recorded the first of his two touchdowns in the half. The senior scored on a 7-yard run with 8:45 on the clock.

On the ensuing drive, Tuloso-Midway was forced to punt on fourth down from deep in its own territory and a bad snap turned into a safety, giving the home team a 9-0 advantage.

With 3:16 left in the first quarter, quarterback Joseph Bargas completed a two-play, 45-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Bargas also collected a 40-yard run on the previous play.

The final score of the opening quarter came as time expired. Calhoun defensive back Trey Robinson returned an interception 85 yards to put the Sandcrabs up 30-0.

"When I caught the ball, I knew it was a touchdown," Robinson said.

Three plays later, Nick McCrory intercepted another Warrior pass and returned it 28 yards for the Sandcrabs' sixth touchdown of the half.

The seventh occurred when Griffith found the end zone for a second time with less than five minutes left in the half, giving Calhoun a commanding 44-0 lead going into the break.

"We came out and did what we had to do," Griffith said. "It feels great knowing that everything is coming together, and all the work in practice is paying off."

From there, the Sandcrabs (3-0) cruised to victory.

After extending its lead to 58-0, thanks to an Alex Trevino rushing touchdown and a scoring pass from Bargas to Jeremy Loya, the Calhoun defense finally gave in, allowing the Warriors (0-3) to score its first touchdown of the game with 9:18 remaining in the game.

But even then, the Sandcrabs found a way to get in on the action.

The extra point was blocked, allowing Marcus Klamm to scoop up the ball and take it into the end zone to push Calhoun's lead to 59-6.

The final points of the game occurred on a 24-yard field goal by Victor Almarez Rodriguez.

"We always talk about being a business-like team when we get in situations like these," Whitaker said. "You don't have to have the highest emotion in a game like this, but you still have to go out and be focused.